Traveling case for shoes



Sept. 9, 1952 s. MEYER 2,609,397

TRAVELING CASE FOR SHOES Filed nee; 1:5, 1950 s Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 3

gm; Lynda ATTORNEYS ep 9, 1952 s. MEYER v 2,609,897

TRAVELING CASE FOR SHOES 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 13, 1950 FIG. 5

INVENTOR Q BY Q Patented Sept. 9, 1952 .U'N1TED STATES I PATENT OFFICE.

Siegfried Meyer, New York, N. Y.

Application December 13, 1950, Serial No. 290,583

, 3 Claims.

This invention relates to traveling cases for shoes, and particularlytoan improved receptacle adapted to receive and to facilitate thetransportation of shoes.

Shoes, because of their bulk and irregular shape,-are among the mostdifficult of items of apparel for the traveler to pack and transport.They do not fit readily into ordinary traveling cases and consume toomuch space therein. Moreover, when shoes are worn, they become soiledand, if packed with other clothing, they mustbe separately wrapped,forming thus unwieldy. bundles which further complicate packing.

Some attempts have been made to provide traveling cases for shoes, butthe bags heretofore suggested are unsightly, inconvenient and generallyunsatisfactory make-shifts which do not appeal tothe. fastidioustraveler.

..It is the object of the present. invention to provide'a shoe case ofmaximum capacity and rugged. structure which at the same time is easilyhandled or carried and affords an attractive piece of luggage which thetraveler will find both useful and satisfactory.

Other objects andadvantages of the invention will be apparent as it isbetter understood by reference to the following specification and theaccompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a caseembodying the invention with a portion cut away to illustrate theinternal structure;

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the form in which the material is cut to formone of the pockets;

Fig/i is a side elevation of a case similar to that shown in Fig. 1, butof double capacity;

' Fig. 5 is an end view of the case shown in Fig. 4.;

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 66 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 isa section on the line 1-4 of Fig. 4 and Fig. .8 is a sectionsimilar to Fig. 7 but showing the shoes in. the pockets.

The case as hereinafter described may be constructed of any suitablesheet material, for example leather, textile material or sheet plastic,the latter being admirably adapted to afford a light-weight and strongcase which is attractive in appearance and easily transportable. Thesheet material may be colored or patterned as desired to .enhance theappearance of the finished case.

The case consists preferably of front and rear walls connected bysuitable gussets at the bottom and side edges to afford sufficientcapacity. In cases of double capacity, the rear wall may become anintermediate or dividing wall between two-outer walls, thus affordingtwo separate'compartments. The upper edge in either case is pref erablyprovided with a stiffener of wood or metal such as a rod, to which ahandle may be attached in order to facilitate transportation.

Access to the compartment or compartments is obtained through an openingor openings adjacent to the lower edge or edges of the outer walls. Theopenings are fastened preferably with a slide fastener, though any othersuitable fastening means may be used. The openings may be straight-edgedor curved.

Adjacent the upper edge or edges of the front or outer walls, otheropenings maybe provided with suitable closures such as slide fastenersor any other fastening devices. By inserting a lining within the outerwall or Walls, pockets are formed in which articles other than shoes maythe bottom gusset when the case is in use.

be stored and transported. These latter pockets are not essential to theinvention, being auxiliaries toaiford additional utility.

Within the compartments formed by the front and rear walls and gussets,a plurality of shoe pockets are supported on the rear or intermediateWall, each adapted to receive and hold a shoe with the toe pointingupward and the heel, therefore, affording a relatively broad baserestingon Thus, if the case is supported on a surface such as .a floorortable, it will stand upright so that it can be easily picked up fortransportation.

The shoe pockets are formed of sheet material in the form of truncatedwedges so that the lower edges are somewhat longer than the upper edges.The side edges are fastened suitably as, for example, by sewing to therear or intermediate wall of the case, and the material is folded toform side pleats so that the pockets remain flat when not in use. Thepockets may be formed with closed or open upper ends, the latter beingpreferable since it facilitates the introduction and storage of shoes ofdifferent lengths.

The rear or intermedite wall in the case of double capacity is made of aplurality of strips of material of approximately the width of thepockets. The strips are arranged perpendicularly to the bottom edge andare sewed or otherwise v ply and easily as an ordinary briefcase, whichit somewhat resembles in appearance.

Referring to Figs. 1-3 of the drawing, the case illustrated provides asingle compartment and consists of a front wall 5 and a rear Wall madeup of strips of material 5 secured together at their lateral edges asindicated at T. It will be understood that there are a plurality of suchvertical strips making up the rear Wall of the case. Gussets 8 areprovided at the lateral and bottom edges of the case to increase theinternal capacity or, in other words, to permit the front and rear wallsto spread when the shoes are inserted. I

The front wall 5 is provided with a slide fastener closure 9 which maybe straight or curved j and is disposed near the lower edge of the case.By opening the closure, access is obtained to the compartment formed bythe walls 5 and E and the gussets 3. A second slide fastener opening 19may be provided, and a lining ll behind the front wall 5 affords apocket in which articles other than shoes may be placed fortransportation. A stiffening rod I2 is introduced between the front andrear Walls at the top of the case, and a handle i3 is secured thereto tofacilitate transportation of the case.

The pockets for the shoes are formed from sheet material M, cut in theform of a truncated wedge as shown in Fig. 3, so that the lower edge iswider than the upper edge It. The edges of the pockets are secured bysewing or other suitable fastening as indicated at H and I8, and thematerial is folded as indicated in Figs. 1 and 3 so that the pocketswill lie flat when the case is not in use, but will readily expandtoreceive the shoe. The upper ends of the pockets may be open or closed.The use of open ends ensures ample space for relatively long shoes.

In Figs. 48 of the drawing, a modified form of the invention is shownwhich provides double capacity. Theouter walls is and 29 are connectedwith an intermediate wall ill at the side edges and bottom by gussets 22which permit the bag to spread and thus accommodate the shoes. Theintermediate wall 2i is made up of strips of sheet material as in thepreceding embodiment of the invention, the strips being secured alongtheir lateral edges as indicated at 23.

The opposite walls :9 and 29 are provided with slide fastener openings25 which may be straight or curved and afford access to the compartmentson opposite sides of the intermediate wall. 2|. The walls l9 and 28 may:be provided also with slide fastener openings 25 and linings 25 may bedisposed behind the walls l9 and forming pockets to which the slidefastener openings afford access for the storage of articles other thanshoes. A stiffening rod of wood or metal 27 is disposed at the upperedge of the case, and a handle 28 is attached thereto to facilitatecarrying.

The pockets 29 are formed in the shape indicated in Fig. 3 of thedrawing and are secured as indicated at 36 by sewing or otherwise andare folded to lie approximately fiat when the case is not in use but topermit expansion when a shoe is inserted. The material for each pocket,being wider at the bottom than at the top, forms a pocket of taperingshape which is particularly desirable because of the tapering characterof shoes. Thus the shoes are held firmly in place. The pockets at theirupper ends may be open as indicated at 3| of Fig. 6, or they may beclosed. Open topped pockets are preferred, since they readilyaccommodate shoes of extreme length.

The manner in which the shoes are inserted and held in the case isclearly shown in Fig. 8, in which the shoes 32 are disposed in thepockets on opposite sides of the intermediate wall 2|. It will be notedthat the heels of the shoes are downwardly directed and expand the case,forming a broad base on which it will rest on any surface. Thismaterially facilitates handling of the case. The pockets formed by thelinings 26 are also clearly shown and obviously are adapted to containvarious articles which the traveler may wish to keep handy for use.

The case as described affords an extremely useful receptacle for thetraveler, who may readily carry two, four or more pairs of shoes withoutinconvenience or any difiiculty whatever in packing. The shoes arereadily accessible and, even if soiled, may be disposed in the casewithout danger of injuring other apparel.

Various changes may be made in the form and arrangement of thereceptacle as described without departing from the invention orsacrificing the advantages thereof.

I claim:

1. In a case for the transportation of shoes, front and rear walls,gussets at the lateral and bottom edges connected to the walls andforming a compartment, the front wall having an opening and a closuretherefor adjacent its lower edge, and pockets within the compartmentattached to the rear wall, the pockets being open at their lower ends topermit insertion of shoes with the heels directed toward the bottomgusset.

2. In a case for the transportation of shoes; a front, a rear and anintermediate wall, and gussets connected to the lateral and bottom edgesof the walls and forming two separate compartments, the front and rearwalls having openings and closures therefor adjacent the lower edges,

and pockets within the compartments attached to the intermediate wall onopposite faces thereof, the pockets being open at their lower ends topermit insertion of shoes with the heels directed toward the bottomgusset.

3. In a case for the transportation of shoes; a front, a rear and anintermediate wall, and gussets connected to the lateral and bottom edgesof the walls and forming two separate compartments, the intermediatewall being formed of a plurality of strips of sheet material securedtogether at their lateral edges, the front and rear walls havingopenings and closures therefor adjacent the lower edges, and pocketswithin the compartments attached to the intermediate wall on oppositefaces thereof, the pockets being open at their lower ends to permitinsertion of shoes with the heels directed toward the bottom gusset, thepockets being formed of sheet material cut in the. shape of truncatedwedges so that the pockets are of smaller cross-section at their upperends.

SIEGFRIED MEYER...

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,818,030 ArnoldAug. 11, 1931 Fingerman May 23, 1933

